dnl	$OpenBSD: prep,v 1.32 2014/02/03 05:35:40 miod Exp $
OpenBSD/MACHINE requires the SRM console.  Some alphas come with
the AlphaBIOS (also known as the ARC firmware on older machines) instead;
this is what Windows NT uses. It is fairly simple to replace the AlphaBIOS
with the SRM firmware.

Switching your MACHINE to SRM console:

    AlphaServer class machines (except for models 300 and 400) and recent
    enough machines (such as the Miata and later models) have enough
    flash ROM space to carry both the AlphaBIOS and the SRM console.

    To switch to SRM from AlphaBIOS, do the following:
    - enter the AlphaBIOS setup upon startup
      (F2 key, or Ctrl-B from serial console)
    - choose "CMOS Setup" from the menu
    - select "Advanced CMOS Setup" (F6 key, or Ctrl-F from serial console)
    - change the "Console Selection" setting to "OpenVMS console (SRM)"
    - confirm your changes with F10 (or Ctrl-U) twice, then enter.
    - power-cycle your system for the changes to take effect.

    If you didn't find a "Console Selection" entry (for example on 164SX or
    164LX), your system can not hold both the AlphaBIOS and SRM console in
    flash, and you will have to upgrade your firmware.

    You can get replacement firmware either from a firmware update CD-ROM,
    which can be downloaded from
	ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/alphaserver/firmware/v73.zip
    However, this CD-ROM image only supports AlphaServer DS10, DS20, DS20L,
    and ES40.  Firmware update for other models can be picked individually
    via FTP from
	ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/alphaserver/firmware/retired_platforms/

    Please refer to
	http://h18002.www1.hp.com/alphaserver/firmware/index.html
    for more information.

    Note that, on most models, upgrading the firmware requires a jumper
    to be moved on the motherboards; refer to the firmware update
    instructions for details.

AXPpci33 Motherboard specific notes:

    The 1994 version of the OEM guide has an incorrect pinout for the
    serial ports.  The newer version used to be available at
	ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/axppci/design_guide.ps.Z 
    with a corrected pinout (as well as more information than the 1994
    edition). Although ftp.digital.com does not exist anymore, a few
    copies of this document are scattered accross various ftp servers
    on the globe, such as
	ftp://ftp.uniroma2.it/Digital/support/axppci/design_guide.ps.Z
    or
        http://vt100.net/mirror/mds-199909/cd1/alpha/axpcidgc.pdf
    
    Note that there are two flavors of PC serial connectors.  If you
    have the wrong kind, you won't get any output from the serial console.

Using the SRM console:

    This is not intended to be an exhaustive guide on using the
    SRM firmware console.  It should, however, give you enough
    information to boot OpenBSD/MACHINE.

    To see a list of devices connected to your alpha, you can
    use the "show device" command.  For booting, the devices you
    are interested in are "dva0" (the floppy drive) and
    "dka*" (the disk drives).

    You can set ROM variables by saying "set VARIABLE VALUE".
    Some variables you will want to set:

	auto_action
		Determines what happens when you turn the power on,
		halt, or restart your machine.  Valid values are:

		"halt"
			the system will not autoboot, will restart when
			rebooted (shutdown -r), and will not restart
			when halted (shutdown -h).
		"boot"
			the system will autoboot on powerup, and when the
			system is halted (shutdown -h) or rebooted
			(shutdown -r).
		"restart"
			the system will autoboot on powerup, will restart
			when rebooted (shutdown -r), and will not restart
			when halted (shutdown -h).

		Most users will want to set this to "restart".

	bootdef_dev
		Default boot device (or list of devices).

	boot_file
		Name of the kernel to boot.  If this variable is empty,
		"bsd" will be loaded.  Note that this variable does not
		exist in all versions of the SRM console, in which case
		you need to always boot manually and specify a kernel
		filename if it differs from "bsd".

	boot_osflags
		Flags to pass to the kernel (there is no need to prefix
		them with a `-' dash sign).

    To see a list of all variables on your machine, use the "show"
    command with no arguments.  If there are too many of them, you
    might want to page with "show | more".

    You can bypass the boot_file and boot_osflags values from the command
    prompt, with the -fi (to override boot_file) and -fl (to override
    boot_osflags) options. For example,

	boot -fi bsd -fl c dka0

    will boot the "bsd" kernel with the "c" flag on dka0.  However, some
    versions of the SRM console (mainly on DEC 3000 series) will only let
    you specify uppercase filenames.

USB support on the XP1000:

    For some unknown reason, the USB interface found on the XP1000
    (and possibly the XP900 and the XP1100) is not enabled unless a
    specific SRM environment variable is set.

    If you plan to use USB devices on these machines, enter
	set usb_enable on
    at the SRM prompt, followed by
	init
    before attempting to install OpenBSD.

EISA configuration:

    A few MACHINE systems support EISA devices. However, the SRM firmware
    has only a very limited knowledge of EISA devices and is not able to
    configure them.

    Every time an EISA board is added to or removed from the system, the
    EISA Configuration Utility needs to be run from a floppy disk using the
    ``runecu'' command at the SRM prompt. An ECU floppy disk is supposed to
    be provided with EISA-capable systems; this disk will be updated with
    the current configuration every time it is run, and needs to be
    writeable. ECU disks should not be shared between systems.

    Redistributing ECU is not allowed, however a copy of it can be
    downloaded from:

    ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/alphaserver/firmware/other/utility/ecu/ntecuv111a.zip

    Extract this archive to a newly FAT-formated 3"1/2 floppy disk to get
    a pristine ECU disk.

SRM console boot device restrictions:

    The SRM firmware on your system may or may not be able to boot from
    any disk controller you may install in your MACHINE.
    The built-in disk controllers on your MACHINE will always be supported,
    however on IDE-based machines, such as the EB164, 164SX and 164LX, as
    well as the low-end Personal Workstation (non-u models), you can plug
    in a SCSI controller, and boot from it if it is recognized.

    Recent SRM releases for these machines will be able to boot (or netboot)
    from the following controllers:
	QLogic PCI SCSI controllers
	Symbios Logic (NCR) 53C8xx (but not on PC164)
	Adaptec AHA-[23]9[34]x[U][W] cards
	Intel i8255x-based cards (EtherExpress PRO)
    The following controllers are known not to be supported as boot devices
    by the SRM:
	Adaptec AHA-[23]9[34]xU2 cards

    Depending on your specific model, your mileage may vary, though.

OpenBSD/MACHINE console device restrictions:

    On systems with no framebuffer supported (currently all
    TURBOchannel-based machines), OpenBSD/MACHINE must be used with a
    serial console.
    
    Setting an Alpha system to use a serial console is system-specific.
    Although most models will default to serial console if no keyboard
    is connected on powerup, this behaviour can't be relied upon.
    The recommended procedure is:

	DEC 3000/[4-9]00
		Flip the `S3' switch on the back of the machine
		(up for glass console, down for serial console).

		When configured to use a serial console, it is also
		necessary to set the ``server'' SRM environment
		variable to ``on'' for the system to autoboot on
		powerup despite the lack of a keyboard and mouse
		plugged in.

	DEC 3000/300 family machines
		Console is selected by the `W2' jumper block, to the
		edge of the logic board, near the memory banks.

		Setting the jumper cap on pins 1-2 selects glass
		console, and on pins 2-3 selects serial console.

	All other machines
		From the SRM console, enter either
			set console serial
		or
			set console graphics
		at the SRM prompt, then enter
			init
		or cycle power.

